Another 'Star Wars' trilogy is in the works; Rian Johnson will create story focusing on new characters

Producer Ram Bergman, left, writer-director Rian Johnson, and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy on the set of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” (Photo: Lucasfilm)

We might be down to the last Jedi, but that galaxy far, far away still has plenty of stories to tell. Lucasfilm announced Thursday afternoon that Rian Johnson, the writer-director behind the upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi, will create a completely new trilogy that won’t focus on the extended exploits of Luke Skywalker but will instead introduce “characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored.”

Johnson, who turned down a chance to direct 2019’s Episode IX, the final film in the “Skywalker Saga,” which will wrap up the story that George Lucas started in 1977, will team with his longtime producing partner, Ram Bergman, for the new venture. No plot details have been announced, nor have any release dates for the films, but all parties are predictably stoked.

“We all loved working with Rian on The Last Jedi,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said in a statement. “He’s a creative force, and watching him craft The Last Jedi from start to finish was one of the great joys of my career. Rian will do amazing things with the blank canvas of this new trilogy.”

“We had the time of our lives collaborating with Lucasfilm and Disney on The Last Jedi,” Johnson and Bergman added in a joint statement. “Star Wars is the greatest modern mythology, and we feel very lucky to have contributed to it. We can’t wait to continue with this new series of films.”

Thursday has proved to be momentous for Force fanatics. In addition to the announcement of the Johnson-helmed trilogy, Disney boss Bob Iger revealed that a live-action TV series set in the Star Wars universe would arrive on the studio’s forthcoming streaming service in 2019 to coincide with the release of Episode IX and the opening of the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge lands at Disney theme parks.

The Last Jedi is due in theaters Dec. 15.

Watch the cast of The Last Jedi demonstrate their best blaster noises: